Video games were invented in 1958 and the first video game console was invented in 1972. The video game industry has grown a lot since the release of the game “Tennis for Two” in1958. There are now 2.9 billion gamers in the world, and game sales have reached over $153.9billion, and console sales have reached $92.2 billion (Halbrook, O’Donnell, & Mstefi, 2014, pg, 1).Playing video games can be a positive and educational experience, but it can also be a negative one. It depends on the person who plays them. Some people can feel irritated when they lose in video games because they get too invested in the game and want to win. They can get very competitive and become addicted to playing video games. Other people enjoy playing video games because it helps them socially connect with others. They can learn a lot from playing video games and take part in healthy competition. This essay explores these kinds of impacts that video games have on people – what are some of the positive and negative effects of playing video games? While playing video games can have negative effects on some players, it generally can have more positive effects.

Video games can have negative impacts on those who play them. One negative effect of playing video games is that it can lead people to become more violent. Dr. Craig Anderson (2007)has studied the effects of violent video games on those who play them. Anderson believes that violent video games can lead to aggressive behaviors. He says that those behaviors can vary from low to high levels of aggression. He did an experiment where he saw that “Nonaggressive people who watched a violent movie clip displayed more aggressive thoughts than non aggressive people who saw the nonviolent clip, but highly aggressive people were relatively unaffected by the movie clip manipulation” (Howe, Stigge, & Sixta, 2007, pg. 2). Though the authors of this research have studied the effects of violent movie clips on people, their findings can support the idea that violent video games can lead to more aggressive behavior in nonaggressive people. However, it can al so be claimed based on this study that not everyone is affected by the violent content. Additionally, violent video games can lead to players being aggressive and antisocial as stated in the journal article “Violent Video Games, Delinquency, and Youth Violence: New Evidence.” The journal article states that “Violent video games are associated with anti sociality even in a clinical sample, and these effects withstand the robust influences of multiple correlates of juvenile delinquency and youth violence most notably psychopathy.” (DeLisi, Vaughn, Gentile, Anderson, & Shook, 2012, pg, 1). This article shows how exposure to violent video games can push people towards criminal behavior. The article also states that “Youth with pre-existing psychopathology are particularly at risk for the deleterious effects of violent video games, and much more research is needed on correctional samples of youth to ascertain the severity of violent video games and related media factors as risk factors for their behavioral problems.” Based on this, it can also be claimed that not all people are affected by the violent content in video games – just people with pre-existing traits.In my experience, I think video games had more positive effects on me than negative effects.However, some of the negative effects I experienced were that I used to get upset when I lost a game and I sometimes played them too much, so I understand why people think that video games have negative effects on players.

Video games can also cause players to have depression, anxiety, and hostility. In the journal article “The Association Between Video Gaming and Psychological Functioning,” it states that video games can have negative effects on players. For example, people who play video games are at risk of showing lower educational and career achievements, problems when interacting with peers, and lower social skills. After a research study, it was found that problematic use of video games increased symptoms such as low self esteem, low life satisfaction, and poorer school performance (Heiden, Braun, Muller, & Egloff, 2010, pg, 3). However, when players were asked why they enjoyed video games, they all have positive things to say. For example, they said they play video games to improve their real-life abilities and stimulate their imagination. They also said that they enjoy video games because of the social relations and storyline, relaxation, and curiosity(Heiden, Braun, Muller, & Egloff, 2010, pg, 5). This shows that while video games may have psychological effects on the players, the players themselves can still enjoy playing video games and can have positive experiences. I play video games and I believe I’ve had positive experiences.I see video games as a way to have social connection, to improve my problem-solving skills, and to be entertained and relaxed. I think that as long as people play video games responsibly, it can have positive effects on them. In all, while many people say that video games have negative effects on people, it does not have a negative effect on all players and can actually have more positive effects on players.

Video games can have positive effects on players. As mentioned, when players were asked why they enjoy video games, they answered that it improves their real-life abilities and stimulates their imagination. They also said that they enjoy video games because of the social relations and storyline, relaxation, and curiosity (Heiden, Braun, Muller, & Egloff, 2010, pg, 5). Also, in theTED Talk of “Your brain on video games” by Daphne Bavelier, Bavelier talks about how video games, even violent video games, can help us learn, focus, and multitask. For example, she says that video games can help with our attention because attention is measured by how fast we resolve problems. People who play video games are able to resolve problems faster because of how quickly they have to make decisions when playing video games. This video shows how video games can have a good, educational impact on people and society. In addition, according to KurtSquire in “Video Games in Education,” different video games can have different impacts on people. For example, games like Pac-Man, Mortal Combat, and Donkey Kong can “elicit powerful emotional reactions in their players, such as fear, power, aggression, wonder, or joy. Video game designers create these emotions by a balancing a number of game components, such as character traits, game rewards, obstacles, game narrative, competition with other humans, and opportunities for collaboration with other players” (Squire, 1992, pg, 2-3). This shows that players experience other feelings other than aggression. Video games can also give players good emotions while playing video games, such as joy and power. It also shows that sometimes feelings like aggression are intentional by the video game designers. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve had positive experiences and emotions because of video games. I see video games as a way to connect, improve skills, and to be entertained and relaxed. I think that video games can be positive as long as people play video games responsibly.

In all, video games can have both negative and positive effects on players. The negative impacts of video games are mental health issues, addiction, aggression, and problems with relationships. However, not everyone experiences these negative effects. A lot of players experience the positive effects of video games. The positive effects are that video games can cause social connection, can be educational, improve problem-solving skills, and may reduce stress.Video games can be a positive experience when players actually enjoy the game and play responsibly and don’t get too invested

Reflection:

My purpose of writing this essay was to write about the positive and negative impacts of playing video games. I found that this was a really interesting topic to write about because I’m a big fan of video games. I like to play sport games like FIFA, NBA, AND NFL. Once I figured out what I wanted to write about, I looked for articles and videos that talked about the effects of video games on players. It’s interesting to read how the video games I play can be good and bad for me. What I found difficult was trying to decide how I felt about video games and what I wanted to argue. I like video games but I saw a lot of people say that video games have negative effects like leading to aggression and violence. This made me feel bad but once I saw other articles and videos talking about how video games can be positive, I felt better and decided I wanted to argue that video games are more positive than negative. When writing this essay, I tried to support my argument by stating and explaining my evidence. I also made sure I was writing in academic voice. I did write a little about my own experiences of playing video games, which is both positive and negative.While writing, I did go back to my annotated bibliography and outline a lot because it helped me figure out how to organize the information. I ended up writing three body paragraphs instead of two because there was one article that talked about about how video games can have both positive and negative effects on people and I felt that it made sense to put that in the middle of the“negative” body paragraph and “positive” body paragraph.